Search results for: financial studies' devolution

Authors: Monsuru Oyenola Popoola, Oladapo Samson Abiola, Wusamotu Alao Adeniji

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The prevalent and incessant abandonment of road construction projects are alarming that it creates several negative effects to social, economic and environmental values of the project. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and determined the various causes and effects of abandoning road construction projects in Nigeria. Likert Scale questionnaire design was used to administered and analysed the data obtained for the stydy. 135 (Nr) questionnaires were completed and retrieved from the respondents, out of 200 (Nr) questionnaires sent out, representing a response rate of 67.5%. The analysis utilized the Relative Importance Index (R.I.I.) method and the results are presented in tabular form. The findings confirms that at least 20 factors were the causes of road projects abandonment in Nigeria with most including Leadership Instability, Improper Project Planning, Inconsistence in government policies and Design, Contractor Incompetence, Economy Instability and Inflation, Delay in remittance of money, Improper financial analysis, Poor risk management, Climatic Conditions, Improper Project Estimates etc. The findings also show that at least eight (8) effect were identified on the system, and these include; Waste of Financial Resources, Loss of economic value, Environmental degradation, Loss of economic value, Reduction in standard of living, Litigation and Arbitration, etc. The reflection is that allocating reasonable finance, developing appropriate and effective implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting on development project activities by key actors should enhance in resolving the problem of road projects abandonment.

Keywords: road construction, abandonment of road projects, climatic condition, project planning, contractor

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Authors: Taylor Harris

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Gustilo-anderson grade III tibial fractures are exquisitely difficult injuries to manage as they require extensive soft tissue repair in addition to fracture fixation. These injuries are best managed collaboratively by Orthopedic and Plastic surgeons. While utilizing an Orthoplastics approach has decreased the rates of adverse outcomes in these injuries, there is a large amount of variation in exactly how an Orthoplastics team approaches complex cases such as these. It is sometimes recommended that definitive bone fixation and soft tissue coverage be completed simultaneously in a single-stage manner, but there is a paucity of large scale studies to provide evidence to support this recommendation. It is the aim of this study to report the outcomes of a single-stage "fix-and-flap" approach through a systematic review of the available literature. Hopefully, this better informs an evidence-based Orthoplastics approach to managing open tibial fractures. Systematic review of the literature was performed. Medline and Google Scholar were used and all studies published since 2000, in English were included. 103 studies were initially evaluated for inclusion. Reference lists of all included studies were also examined for potentially eligible studies. Gustilo grade III tibial shaft fractures in adults that were managed with a single-stage Orthoplastics approach were identified and evaluated with regard to outcomes of interest. Exclusion criteria included studies with patients <16 years old, case studies, systemic reviews, meta-analyses. Primary outcomes of interest were the rates of deep infections and rates of limb salvage. Secondary outcomes of interest included time to bone union, rates of non-union, and rates of re-operation. 15 studies were eligible. 11 of these studies reported rates of deep infection as an outcome, with rates ranging from 0.98%-20%. The pooled rate between studies was 7.34%. 7 studies reported rates of limb salvage with a range of 96.25%-100%. The pooled rate of the associated studies was 97.8%. 6 reported rates of non-union with a range of 0%-14%, a pooled rate of 6.6%. 6 reported time to bone union with a range of 24 to 40.3 weeks and a pooled average time of 34.2 weeks, and 4 reported rates of reoperation ranging from 7%-55%, with a pooled rate of 31.1%. A few studies that compared a single stage to a multi stage approach side-by-side unanimously favored the single stage approach. Outcomes of Gustilo grade III open tibial fractures utilizing an Orthoplastics approach that is specifically done in a single-stage produce low rates of adverse outcomes. Large scale studies of Orthoplastic collaboration that were not completed in strictly a single stage, or were completed in multiple stages, have not reported as favorable outcomes. We recommend that not only should Orthopedic surgeons and Plastic surgeons collaborate in the management of severe open tibial fracture, but they should plan to undergo definitive fixation and coverage in a single-stage for improved outcomes.

Keywords: orthoplastic, gustilo grade iii, single-stage, trauma, systematic review

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Authors: Raheel Asif, Michael Frommel

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This paper focuses on analyzing the exchange rate exposure of exporting & domestic firms in (the so far rarely addressed) largest Eastern European transition economies, i.e., Russia and the three EU accession countries, Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic (CEEC-3). It also controls for possible effects of different exchange rate regimes, Great Financial crisis (2007-08), Russian Financial crisis (2014-15), the formation of EU & turn of year effect. Substantially improving the results from the existing literature on these transition economies, we find for more than 51% of our sample firms in CEEC-3 countries and 29% in Russia shows a significant exchange rate exposure. However, the magnitude and direction of firms’ exposure depends on the particular bilateral exchange rate and differs between CEEC-3 and Russia. We find that share price increases with an appreciation of the domestic currency against the EURO and US Dollar (USD) in CEEC-3; however, the effect is more pronounced for EURO as expected. Whereas, for Russian firms share price increases with a depreciation of the domestic currency against the USD only. Those differences may result from a differing dominance of exposure channels in the respective economies, such as the country-specific export structure, competitiveness channels, and dependence on foreign debt. Finally, the switch from a pegged to a flexible exchange rate regime appears to have a less pronounced effect for the exchange rate exposure of firms in all countries except for USD in Poland and Russia.

Keywords: exchange rate exposure, transition economies, central and eastern Europe, international finance

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Authors: Ashleigh Beales, Anne Whitworth, Jade Cartwright

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Background: While significant benefits of lexical retrieval intervention are evident within the Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) literature, an understanding of the mechanisms that underlie change or improvement is limited. Change mechanisms have been explored in the non-progressive post-stroke literature that may offer insight into how interventions affect change with progressive language disorders. The potential influences of cognitive factors may also play a role here, interacting with the aims of intervention. Exploring how such processes have been applied is likely to grow our understanding of how interventions have, or have not, been effective, and how and why generalisation is likely, or not, to occur. Aims: This review of the literature aimed to (1) investigate the proposed mechanisms of change which underpin lexical interventions, mapping the PPA and AD lexical retrieval literature to theoretical accounts of mechanisms that underlie change within the broader intervention literature, (2) identify whether and which nonlinguistic cognitive functions have been engaged in intervention with these populations and any proposed influence, and (3) explore evidence of linguistic generalisation, with particular reference to change mechanisms employed in interventions. Main contribution: A search of Medline, PsycINFO, and CINAHL identified 36 articles that reported data for individuals with PPA or AD following lexical retrieval intervention. A review of the mechanisms of change identified 10 studies that used stimulation, 21 studies utilised relearning, three studies drew on reorganisation, and two studies used cognitive-relay. Significant treatment gains, predominantly based on linguistic performance measures, were reported for all client groups for each of the proposed mechanisms. Reorganisation and cognitive-relay change mechanisms were only targeted in PPA. Eighteen studies incorporated nonlinguistic cognitive functions in intervention; these were limited to autobiographical memory (16 studies), episodic memory (three studies), or both (one study). Linguistic generalisation outcomes were inconsistently reported in PPA and AD studies. Conclusion: This review highlights that individuals with PPA and AD may benefit from lexical retrieval intervention, irrespective of the mechanism of change. Thorough application of a theory of intervention is required to gain a greater understanding of the change mechanisms, as well as the interplay of nonlinguistic cognitive functions.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, lexical retrieval, mechanisms of change, primary progressive aphasia

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Authors: Nozar Kishi, Babak Kamrani, Filmon Habte

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Natural hazards such as earthquakes and tropical storms, are very frequent and highly destructive in Japan. Japan experiences, every year on average, more than 10 tropical cyclones that come within damaging reach, and earthquakes of moment magnitude 6 or greater. We have developed stochastic catastrophe models to address the risk associated with the entire suite of damaging events in Japan, for use by insurance, reinsurance, NGOs and governmental institutions. KCC’s (Karen Clark and Company) catastrophe models are procedures constituted of four modular segments: 1) stochastic events sets that would represent the statistics of the past events, hazard attenuation functions that could model the local intensity, vulnerability functions that would address the repair need for local buildings exposed to the hazard, and financial module addressing policy conditions that could estimates the losses incurring as result of. The events module is comprised of events (faults or tracks) with different intensities with corresponding probabilities. They are based on the same statistics as observed through the historical catalog. The hazard module delivers the hazard intensity (ground motion or wind speed) at location of each building. The vulnerability module provides library of damage functions that would relate the hazard intensity to repair need as percentage of the replacement value. The financial module reports the expected loss, given the payoff policies and regulations. We have divided Japan into regions with similar typhoon climatology, and earthquake micro-zones, within each the characteristics of events are similar enough for stochastic modeling. For each region, then, a set of stochastic events is developed that results in events with intensities corresponding to annual occurrence probabilities that are of interest to financial communities; such as 0.01, 0.004, etc. The intensities, corresponding to these probabilities (called CE, Characteristics Events) are selected through a superstratified sampling approach that is based on the primary uncertainty. Region specific hazard intensity attenuation functions followed by vulnerability models leads to estimation of repair costs. Extensive economic exposure model addresses all local construction and occupancy types, such as post-linter Shinand Okabe wood, as well as concrete confined in steel, SRC (Steel-Reinforced Concrete), high-rise.

Keywords: typhoon, earthquake, Japan, catastrophe modelling, stochastic modeling, stratified sampling, loss model, ERM

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Authors: Muhammad Fanseem E. M., Rama Satya Satish Kumar, Indrajeet Bhausaheb Bhavar, Deepak M.

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Keeping the right balance of electricity between the supply and demand sides of the grid is one of the most important objectives of electrical grid operation. Power generation and demand forecasting are the core of power management and generation scheduling. Large, centralized producing units were used in the construction of conventional power systems in the past. A certain level of balance was possible since the generation kept up with the power demand. However, integrating renewable energy sources into power networks has proven to be a difficult challenge due to its intermittent nature. The power imbalance caused by rising demands and peak loads is negatively affecting power quality and dependability. Demand side management and demand response were one of the solutions, keeping generation the same but altering or rescheduling or shedding completely the load or demand. However, shedding the load or rescheduling is not an efficient way. There comes the significance of virtual power plants. The virtual power plant integrates distributed generation, dispatchable load, and distributed energy storage organically by using complementing control approaches and communication technologies. This would eventually increase the utilization rate and financial advantages of distributed energy resources. Most of the writing on virtual power plant models ignored technical limitations, and modeling was done in favor of a financial or commercial viewpoint. Therefore, this paper aims to address the modeling intricacies of VPPs and their technical limitations, shedding light on a holistic understanding of this innovative power management approach.

Keywords: cost optimization, distributed energy resources, dynamic modeling, model quality tests, power system modeling

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Authors: Chen Li-Ching

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The multinomial logistic regression model is used popularly for inferring the relationship of risk factors and disease with multiple categories. This study based on the discrepancy between the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator and semiparametric maximum likelihood estimator of the cumulative distribution function to propose a Kolmogorov-Smirnov type test statistic to assess adequacy of the multinomial logistic regression model for case-control data. A bootstrap procedure is presented to calculate the critical value of the proposed test statistic. Empirical type I error rates and powers of the test are performed by simulation studies. Some examples will be illustrated the implementation of the test.

Keywords: case-control studies, goodness-of-fit test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, multinomial logistic regression

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Authors: Alvaro Marin

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This paper explores the challenges in Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS) conceptual development to accommodate professionals’ perceptions in the language industry into CTS established theoretical apparatus, empirical research projects, and university pedagogical proposals. A comparative conceptual assessment framework is developed from a pluralist epistemological stance that promotes interdisciplinary explorations of the translation process. The framework is used to review key notions such as expertise or feedback, as understood by language industry stakeholders. This review is followed by an analysis of how these notions can enrich research constructs to be applied in empirical investigations of translators’ cognitive processes from an embedded, situated cognition perspective. Thus, it will be proposed to apply the conceptual assessment framework as an effort towards strengthening the interpretative research tools and bridging the gap between industry and academia. The conclusions of this analysis will serve as a basis to further discuss how professional practices, combined with our current knowledge about expertise development in cognitive science and Expertise Studies, can enhance the learning experience of university translation students and help them better understand the processes and requirements of professional cross-linguistic mediation.

Keywords: language industry, cognitive translation studies, translation cognitive theory, translation teaching

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Authors: Zunnu Raen Akhtar, U. Irshad, M. Majid

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Due to the widespread cultivation of transgenic cotton, intense selection pressure resulted in resistant allele in pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera). A resistant strain of pink bollworm against transgenic cotton has become a challenge to Integrated Resistance Management (IRM) in the World. Laboratory and field studies were conducted to determine the resistant strains of pink bollworm by performing bioassay, extracting the DNA, conducting PCR of both laboratory as well as field collected pink bollworms to observe the developed resistance. In all of the studies, two Bt varieties FH-142 and FH-118 expressing Cry1Ac compared to non-Bt (Control) were tested against pink bollworm. In the laboratory, bioassay results showed that there was no significant mortality difference between Bt and non-Bt varieties. Similar mortality percentage was observed in transgenic and non-transgenic (control) variety. Insects which were survived after bioassay, as well as those collected from the Bt cotton fields, were selected for further molecular studies. DNA extraction followed by PCR was conducted to check the resistant strains in pink bollworm. In field studies, we also observed the population dynamics of pink boll worms on Bt as compared to non-Bt varieties. Laboratory and field studies confirmed that resistant strains occurs in Pakistani Bt cotton fields. Different strategies should be adopted to combat that serious prevailing resistance issues.

Keywords: transgenic cotton, resistance, pectinophora gossypiella, , integrated resistance management (IRM), polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

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Authors: M. Jegannath, V. Akshaya, B. Arunkumar, G. Lakshmi Soundharya, V. Thenmozhi, S. Varun, V. R. S. Kumar

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For scarf inlet design, the primary variable of interest is the circumferential extent over which the extended lower lip is formed. In this paper, an attempt has been made to optimize the aerodynamic shape of a subsonic scarf inlet with aerodynamically shaped center-body with a particular value of the circumferential extent. The parametric analytical studies have been carried out using a Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. From our preliminary studies, we concluded that for a particular value of circumferential extent, there will be an exact shape of the center-body with certain geometric orientation for the existence of an aerodynamically efficient scarf inlet for modern aircraft engines. This numerical study is a pointer towards for the design optimization of scarf inlets for modern aircraft engines.

Keywords: aerodynamics of scarf inlets, inlet design, modern aircraft inlets, subsonic scarf inlet

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Authors: Shu-Han Hsu, Jiho Yoon, Chwen Sheu

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With the rapidly growing of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, various industries which include tourism has added in cryptocurrency as the payment method of their transaction. More and more tourism companies accept payments in digital currency for flights, hotel reservations, transportation, and more. For travellers and tourists, using cryptocurrency as a payment method has become a way to circumvent costs and prevent risks. Understanding volatility dynamics and interdependencies between standard currency and cryptocurrency is important for appropriate financial risk management to assist policy-makers and investors in marking more informed decisions. The purpose of this paper has been to understand and explain the risk spillover effects between six major cryptocurrencies and the top ten most traded standard currencies. Using data for the daily closing price of cryptocurrencies and currency exchange rates from 7 August 2015 to 10 December 2019, with 1,133 observations. The diagonal BEKK model was used to analyze the co-volatility spillover effects between cryptocurrency returns and exchange rate returns, which are measures of how the shocks to returns in different assets affect each other’s subsequent volatility. The empirical results show there are co-volatility spillover effects between the cryptocurrency returns and GBP/USD, CNY/USD and MXN/USD exchange rate returns. Therefore, currencies (British Pound, Chinese Yuan and Mexican Peso) and cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Tether, Litecoin and Stellar) are suitable for constructing a financial portfolio from an optimal risk management perspective and also for dynamic hedging purposes.

Keywords: blockchain, co-volatility effects, cryptocurrencies, diagonal BEKK model, exchange rates, risk spillovers

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Authors: Leticia Lengler, Vania Estivalete, Vivian Flores Costa, Tais De Andrade, Lisiane Fellini Faller

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Social entrepreneurship has emerged and driven a new development perspective, and as the literature mentions, it is based on innovation, and mainly, on the creation of social value, rather than personal wealth and shareholders. In this field of study, one of the focuses of discussion refers to the distinct characteristics of the individuals responsible for socially directed initiatives, named as social entrepreneurs. To contribute to this perspective, the present study aims to identify the values related to work that guide the performance of social entrepreneurs, members of enterprises that have developed themselves within a social incubator at a federal institution of higher education in Brazil. Each person's value system is present in different facets of his life, manifesting himself in his choices and in the way he conducts the relationship with other people in society. Especially the values of work, the focus of this research, play a significant role in organizational studies, since they are considered one of the important guiding principles of the behavior of individuals in the work environment. Regarding the method of the study, a descriptive and qualitative research was carried out. In the data collection, 24 entrepreneurs, members of five different enterprises belonging to the social incubator, were interviewed. The research instrument consisted of three open questions, which could be answered with the support of a "disc of values", an artifact organized to clearly demonstrate the values of the work to the respondents. The analysis of the interviews took into account the categories defined a priori, based on the model proposed by previous authors who validated these constructs within their research contexts, contemplating the following dimensions: Self-determination and stimulation; Safety; Conformity; Universalism and benevolence; Achievement; and Power. It should be noted that, in order to provide a better understanding of the interviewees, in the "disc of values" used in the research, these dimensions were represented by the objectives that define them, being respectively: Challenge; Financial independence; Commitment; Welfare of others; Personal success; And Power. Some preliminary results show that, as guiding principles of the investigation, priority is given to work values related to Self-determination and stimulation, Conformity and Universalism and benevolence. Such findings point to the importance given by these individuals to independent thinking and acting, as well as to novelty and constant challenge. Still, they demonstrate the appreciation of commitment to their enterprise, the people who make it and the quality of their work. They also point to the relevance of the possibility of contributing to the greater social good, that is, of the search for the well-being of close people and of society, as it is implied in models of social entrepreneurship coming from literature. With a lower degree of priority, the values denominated Safety and Realization, as the financial question at work and the search for satisfaction and personal success, through the use of socially recognized skills were mentioned aspects with little emphasis by social entrepreneurs. The Power value was not considered as guiding principle of the work for the respondents.

Keywords: qualitative study, social entrepreneur, social incubator, values of work

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Authors: Vinodd Nayak

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10th & 12th are the most crucial period in a student’s life. It is the time when he or she has to make vital career choices and get the relevant professional education. Unfortunately most students are not aware of the multitudes of career options available to them. This leads to affect our social fabric of the society with issues like unemployment, stress etc. We have planned a guidance program for the youth in Maharashtra state which has 4 components; creating awareness about different career options, proper guidance and motivation, counseling for parents, and information on financial aid for unemployed youth we are conducting skill development programs. Currently we are conducting programs under 4 categories Uneducated Youth: Skill Development programs for unemployed youth in construction field (Carpentry/Masoning/Wlder/Electrician/Tiling etc..) in association with L&T Construction Training Institute Educated Youth: Il&FS: Training and Job Placement in the field of Finance and Customer Service NIS Sparta: Training and Job Placement in the field of Sales and Marketing Apeejay Inst. of Hotel Management: Training and Job Placement in the field of hospitality industry Skill India: Training and Job Placement in the field of IT Results: The results were really overwhelming. We were able to cater to approx. 10,000 students a year and the list is growing. Earlier we were only catering to schools and colleges, now we have started receiving invitations from other community organizations to conduct such programs for their communities Implications for Social Work and Social Development practice: It is a high time that Social work organisations need to get into such work as this will enhance people to improve their financial condition. We always believed that it is better to teach a man to fish than feed him.

Keywords: youth education, career guidance, skill development, parental guidance

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Authors: Mala Nath, Nagamani Kompelli, Partha Roy, Snehasish Das

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Two new metal-based anticancer chemotherapeutic agents, [(Ph2Sn)2(HGuO)2(phen)Cl2] 1 and [(Ph3Sn)(HGuO)(phen)]- Cl.CH3OH.H2O 2, were designed, prepared and characterized by analytical and spectral (IR, ESI-Mass, 1H, 13C and 119Sn NMR) techniques. The proposed geometry of Sn(IV) in 1 and 2 is distorted octahedral and distorted trigonal-bipyramidal, respectively. Both 1 and 2 exhibit potential cytotoxicity in vitro against MCF-7, HepG-2 and DU-145 cell lines. The intrinsic binding constant (Kb) values of 1 (2.33 × 105 M-1) and 2 (2.46 × 105 M-1) evaluated from UV-Visible absorption studies suggest non-classical electrostatic mode of interaction via phosphate backbone of DNA double helix. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant (Ksv) of 1 (9.74 × 105 M-1) and 2 (2.9 × 106 M-1) determined by fluorescence studies suggests the groove binding and intercalation mode for 1 and 2, respectively. Effective cleavage of pBR322 DNA is induced by 1. Their interaction with DNA of cancer cells may account for potency.

Keywords: anticancer agents, DNA binding studies, NMR spectroscopy, organotin

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Authors: Marzena Świgoń

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Nowadays, graduates should be prepared for serious challenges in the internal and external labor market. The notion that a degree is a “passport to employment” has been relegated to the past. In the last few years a phenomenon in the form of the increasing unemployment of highly educated young people in EU countries, including Poland has been observed. Empirical studies were conducted among Polish students in the scope of the so-called self-perceived employability review. In this study, a special scale was used which consisted of 19 statements regarding five components: student’s perception of university; field of study; self-belief; state of the external labor market; and, personal knowledge management. The respondent group consisted of final-year master’s students of International Relations at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. The findings of the empirical studies were compiled using statistical methods: descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. In general, in light of the conducted studies, the self-perceived employability of the Polish students was not high. Limitations of the studies were discussed, as well as the implications for future research in the scope of the students’ employability.

Keywords: self-perceived employability, students of international relations, university students, students employability

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Authors: Hussaini Bala

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There are different opinions in the literature on the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and earnings management. The mix of opinions makes the direction of their relationship ambiguous. This study investigated the relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and earnings management of listed food and beverages Firms in Nigeria. The study covered the period of six years from 2007 to 2012. Data for the study were extracted from the Firms’ annual reports and accounts. After running the OLS regression, a robustness test was conducted for the validity of statistical inferences. The dependent variable was generated using two steps regression in order to determine the discretionary accrual of the sample Firms. Multiple regression was employed to run the data of the study using Random Model. The results from the analysis revealed a significant association between audit committee characteristics and earnings management of the Firms. While audit committee size and committees’ financial expertise showed an inverse relationship with earnings management, committee’s independence, and frequency of meetings are positively and significantly related to earnings management. In line with the findings, the study recommended among others that listed food and beverages Firms in Nigeria should strictly comply with the provision of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and SEC Code of Corporate Governance on the issues regarding Audit Committees. Regulators such as SEC should increase the minimum number of Audit Committee members with financial expertise and also have a statutory position on the maximum number of Audit Committees meetings, which should not be greater than four meetings in a year as SEC code of corporate governance is silent on this.

Keywords: audit committee, earnings management, listed Food and beverages size, leverage, Nigeria

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Authors: Maryvone Cunha de Morais, Lilian Cristine Hübner

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Based on a translanguaging theoretical approach, which considers language not as separate entities but as an entire repertoire available to bilingual individuals, this systematic review aimed at analyzing the methods (aims, samples investigated, type of stimuli, and analyses) adopted by studies on translanguaging practices associated with written and oral tasks (separately or integrated) in bilingual education. The PRISMA criteria for systematic reviews were adopted, with the descriptors "translanguaging", "bilingual education" and/or “written and oral tasks" to search in Pubmed/Medline, Lilacs, Eric, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases for articles published between 2017 and 2021. 280 registers were found, and after following the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 24 articles were considered for this analysis. The results showed that translanguaging practices were investigated on four studies focused on written production analyses, ten focused on oral production analysis, whereas ten studies focused on both written and oral production analyses. The majority of the studies followed a qualitative approach, while five studies have attempted to study translanguaging with quantitative statistical measures. Several types of methods were used to investigate translanguaging practices in written and oral production, with different approaches and tools indicating that the methods are still in development. Moreover, the findings showed that students’ interactions have received significant attention, and studies have been developed not just in language classes in bilingual education, but also including diverse educational and theoretical contexts such as Content and Language Integrated Learning, task repetition, Science classes, collaborative writing, storytelling, peer feedback, Speech Act theory and collective thinking, language ideologies, conversational analysis, and discourse analyses. The studies, whether focused either on writing or oral tasks or in both, have portrayed significant research and pedagogical implications, grounded on the view of integrated languages in bi-and multilinguals.

Keywords: bilingual education, oral production, translanguaging, written production

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Authors: D. Ravinder

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Nickel ferrites and Ni doped Lithium nano ferrites [Li0.5Fe0.5]1-xNixFe2O4 with x= 0.8 and 1.0 synthesized by citrate-gel auto combustion method. The broad peaks in the X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) indicate a crystalline behavior of the prepared samples. Low temperature magnetization studies i,e Field Cooled (FC) and Zero Field Cooled (ZFC) magnetic studies of the investigated samples are measured by using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The magnetization of the prepared samples as a function of an applied magnetic field 10 T was measured at two different temperatures 5 K and 310 K. Field Cooled (FC) and Zero Field Cooled (ZFC) magnetization measurements under an applied field of 100 Oe and 1000 Oe in the temperature range of 5–375 K were carried out.

Keywords: ferro-spinels, field cooled (FC), Zero Field Cooled (ZFC) and blocking temperature, superpara magnetism, drug delivery applications

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Authors: Jana Kisková, Dana Gabriková

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Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) is suggested to be a candidate gene implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This meta-analytic review evaluates the relationship between ASD and MAOA markers such as 30 bp variable number tandem repeats in the promoter region (uVNTR) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by using findings from recently published studies. It seems that in Caucasian males, the risk of developing ASD increase with the presence of 4-repeat allele in the promoter region of MAOA gene whereas no differences were found between autistic patients and controls in Egyptian, West Bengal and Korean population. Some studies point to the importance specific haplotype groups of SNPs and interaction of MAOA with others genes (e.g. FOXP2 or SRY). The results of existing studies are insufficient and further research is needed.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, MAOA, uVNTR, single nucleotide polymorphism

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Authors: Abdullah M. Alodhaiani, Yasir A. Alturki, Mohamed A. Elkady

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Complex power flow distribution factors, which relate line complex power flows to the bus injected complex powers, have been widely used in various power system planning and analysis studies. In particular, AC distribution factors have been used extensively in the recent power and energy pricing studies in free electricity market field. As was demonstrated in the existing literature, many of the electricity market related costing studies rely on the use of the distribution factors. These known distribution factors, whether the injection shift factors (ISF’s) or power transfer distribution factors (PTDF’s), are linear approximations of the first order sensitivities of the active power flows with respect to various variables. This paper presents a novel model for evaluating the universal distribution factors (UDF’s), which are appropriate for an extensive range of power systems analysis and free electricity market studies. These distribution factors are used for the calculations of lines complex power flows and its independent of bus power injections, they are compact matrix-form expressions with total flexibility in determining the position on the line at which line flows are measured. The proposed approach was tested on IEEE 9-Bus system. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed approach is very accurate compared with exact method.

Keywords: distribution factors, power system, sensitivity factors, electricity market

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Authors: Protyoy Sen

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Heritage conservation often holds different meanings and values for different people. To a cultural or architectural body it might be about protecting relics of the past, while for an government body or corporate it might be the value of the real estate which generates profits in terms of hospitality, tourism or some form of trade. But often, a significant proportion of the built fabric in our cities comprises of what usually does not come under the common lenses of collective heritage or conservation i.e. private houses. Standing ode to a bygone era of different communities, trades and practices that once inhabited the city, old private houses of certain architectural or historic character face the gravest challenges of heritage conservation. These – despite being significant to the heritage fabric of a city – neither get the social attention nor the financial aid for repair and periodic maintenance, that many monuments and public buildings do. The situation in India is no different. Private residences belonging to affluent families of an earlier time, today lie in varying degrees of neglect and dilapidation. With the growth of nuclear families, drastic change in people’s and expensive repairs of historic material fabric (amongst other reasons), houses of heritage value often become liabilities, and metaphorical to a white elephant in a poor man’s backyard. In a capitalistic setup that values time and money over everything, it is not reasonable that one justifies the conservation of individual / family assets solely through architectural, historical or cultural values. It is quite logical them, that the houseowner – in most cases, a layperson – must be made to understand of both tangible and intangible values in order to (1) take the trouble of the effort, resources and aid (if possible) to repair and maintain a house of heritage character and, (2) choose to invest into a building that today might’ve lost its practical relevance, over demolishing and building new. The question that still remains is – Why? If heritage conservation is to be seen as an economically viable and realistic building activity, it must shed its image of being an ‘elitist, cultural pursuit’ in the eyes of the common person. Through contextual studies of historic areas in Ahmedabad and Calcutta, reading of theoretical pieces on the subject and conversations with multiple stakeholders, this study intended to justify the act of heritage conservation to the common person – one who is assumed to have no particular sensitivity towards architectural or cultural value, and rather questions what these buildings tangibly bring to the table. The theoretical frameworks (taken from literature) are then tested through actual case studies in Indian cities, followed by an elaborate inference on the subject.

Keywords: heritage values, heritage houses, private ownership, unprotected heritage

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Authors: Lina Fayed Amin

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The research studied, in the beginning, the related urban concepts such as the urban, development, urban development. As it also deals with the upgrading, urban upgrading, community participation and the role of local administration in development and upgrading projects. Then it studies some regional upgrading & urban development projects in Egypt followed by international projects, and the analysis the strategies followed in dealing with these projects. Afterwards, we state the regional aspects of both Damietta governorate & city, dealing with its potentials & development constraints. Followed by studying the upgrading and urban development projects strategies in reflection to the city’s crucial problems, and the constraints that faced the upgrading & development project. Then, it studied the implementation of the project’s strategies & it provided the financial resources needed for the development project in Damietta city. Followed by the studying of the urban and human development projects in the upgrading of Damietta city, as well as analyzing the different projects &analyzing the results of these projects on the aspects of the city’s needs. Then the research analysis in comparison the upgrading and urban development project in Damietta and the regional upgrading and development projects in Egypt. As well as the comparison between the upgrading and urban development project and the international projects in some Arabic and foreign countries in relation to the goals, problems, obstacles, the community participation, the finance resources and the results. Finally, it reviews the results and recommendations that were reached as a result of studying the similar urban upgrading projects in Egypt and in some Arabic and foreign countries. Followed by the analytical analysis of the upgrading and urban development in Egypt

Keywords: Damietta city, urban development, upgrading mechanisms, urban upgrading

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Authors: Bo Ning Lyu

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Blog assisted language learning (BALL) has been trialed by educators in language teaching with the development of Web 2.0 technology. Understanding the development trend of related research helps grasp the whole picture of the use of blog in language education. This paper reviews current research related to blogs enhanced language learning based on bibliometric analysis, aiming at (1) identifying the most frequently used keywords and their co-occurrence, (2) clustering research topics based on co-citation analysis, (3) finding the most frequently cited studies and authors and (4) constructing the co-authorship network. 330 articles were searched out in Web of Science, 225 peer-viewed journal papers were finally collected according to selection criteria. Bibexcel and VOSviewer were used to visualize the results. Studies reviewed were published between 2005 to 2016, most in the year of 2014 and 2015 (35 papers respectively). The top 10 most frequently appeared keywords are learning, language, blog, teaching, writing, social, web 2.0, technology, English, communication. 8 research themes could be clustered by co-citation analysis: blogging for collaborative learning, blogging for writing skills, blogging in higher education, feedback via blogs, blogging for self-regulated learning, implementation of using blogs in classroom, comparative studies and audio/video blogs. Early studies focused on the introduction of the classroom implementation while recent studies moved to the audio/video blogs from their traditional usage. By reviewing the research related to BALL quantitatively and objectively, this paper reveals the evolution and development trends as well as identifies influential research, helping researchers and educators quickly grasp this field overall and conducting further studies.

Keywords: blog, bibliometric analysis, language learning, literature review

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Authors: Tim Vollmer, Andrea Greven, Malte Brettel

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Family firms represent the predominant business structure worldwide, accounting for 90 percent of all operational businesses. These firms are essential to society and the economy. In the past decade, family firm exits increased by 72%; and in the next five years, 95,000 German family firms will be sold, acquired, or liquidated. For family firms, socioemotional wealth represents the frame of reference and value to preserve when making decisions. Family firm exits threaten the socioemotional wealth, as in extreme scenarios, economic logic may take over. So, a dilemma arises: Maintaining socioemotional wealth versus pursuing financial wealth. Family firm researchers agree that family involvement leads to specific goals, behaviors, and outcomes. For instance, the desire to protect socioemotional wealth when selling the firm and the focus on particular exit success dimensions, depending on the family's role inside the firm. However, despite the regularity of family firm exits, there is little research on the effect of family involvement on the family firm CEOs' perceived exit performance. We investigate the family firm CEOs' perceived exit performance, which we call exit success. Considering the deficiencies in the literature, we identify two research gaps. First, it remains unclear how family involvement affects the dimensions of exit success. Hence, we provide evidence of which success dimensions matter most depending on the family's involvement and how to differentiate successful from unsuccessful exits. Second, prior work has analyzed family involvement in the socioemotional wealth context but found contradictory findings. This work considers, for example, the family generation in control and identifies the tipping point of economic objectives becoming preferable over socioemotional wealth-related goals. This paper theorizes and empirically investigates, through the lens of socioemotional wealth and conflict theory, how socioemotional wealth mediates the relationship between family involvement and family firms' exit success. We analyze family firms' exit success dimensions of personal financial benefits, personal reputation, employee benefits, and firm mission persistence. Family involvement considers the family firms' heterogeneity in ownership, management, and generation. We use a quantitative approach in the form of an online survey by drawing on 116 responses from former family firm CEOs'. This study highlights that socioemotional wealth mediates the relationship between the dimensions of family involvement and exit success. The greater socioemotional wealth, the greater the family firm CEOs focus on the pro-organizational exit success dimensions of employee benefits and firm mission persistence. In contrast, the self-regarding dimension of personal financial benefits is significantly negatively affected. An important finding is that later generations and the number of family managers involved significantly negatively affect the two pro-organizational dimensions of exit success. Family ownership does not show any significant effect. Our work widens implications for research, theory, and practice by contributing in two meaningful ways. First, our results offer insights to differentiate successful from unsuccessful family firm exits and provide evidence of which success dimensions matter and which to focus on, most dependent on the family's role inside the firm. Second, our article advances research and empirical understanding of family firms and socioemotional wealth by clarifying contradictory findings.

Keywords: exit success, family firm exit, perceived exit performance, socioemotional wealth

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Authors: Rayah Asiri, Anna Robinson-Barella, Adam Todd, Andy Husband

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Introduction: A high prevalence of diabetes and diabetes-related complications in ethnic minority communities is of significant concern. Several studies have indicated low adherence rates to antidiabetic medications in ethnic minorities. Poor adherence to antidiabetic medications leads to a higher risk of complications and mortality. This review aims to explore the barriers to and facilitators of adherence to antidiabetic medication among ethnic minority groups in high-income countries. Methods: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases for qualitative studies exploring the barriers to or facilitators of adherence to antidiabetic medication in ethnic minority groups were conducted from database inception to March 2022 (PROSPERO CRD42022320681). A quality assessment of the studies was conducted using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Key concepts and themes from relevant studies were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach. Result: A total of 18 studies were included in the review, and three major themes were developed: 1) cultural underpinnings, 2) communication and building relationships, and 3) managing diabetes during holidays. Conclusion: Multiple barriers and facilitators of adherence to antidiabetic medication among ethnic minority people in high-income countries have been identified. A medication adherence intervention focusing on identified barriers to adherence to antidiabetic medication in ethnic minorities may help in improving diabetes outcomes in these groups.

Keywords: medication adherence, diabetes, ethnic minority, barriers, facilitators

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Authors: Marie Boost

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Despite activation policies, forced personal initiative to step out of unemployment and a general prosper economic situation, poverty and financial hardship constitute a crucial role in the daily lives of many families in Germany. In 2015, ~16 million persons (20.2%) of the German population are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This is illustrated by an unemployment rate of 13.3% in the research area, located in East Germany. Despite this high amount of persons living in vulnerable households, we know little about how they manage to stabilize their lives or even overcome poverty – apart from solely relying on welfare state benefits or entering in a stable, well-paid job. Most of them are struggling in precarious living circumstances, switching from one or several short-term, low-paid jobs into self-employment or unemployment, sometimes accompanied by welfare state benefits. Hence, insecurity and uncertain future expectation form a crucial part of their lives. Within the EU-funded project “RESCuE”, resilient practices of vulnerable households were investigated in nine European countries. Approximately, 15 expert interviews with policy makers, representatives from welfare state agencies, NGOs and charity organizations and 25 household interviews have been conducted within each country. It aims to find out more about the chances and conditions of social resilience. The research is based on the triangulation of biographical narrative interviews, followed by participatory photo interviews, asking the household members to portray their typical everyday life. The presentation is focusing on the explanatory strength of this mixed-methods approach in order to show the potential of household practices to overcome financial hardship. The methodological combination allows an in-depth analysis of the families and households everyday living circumstances, including their poverty and employment situation, whether formal and informal. Active household budgeting practices, such as saving and consumption practices are based on subsistence or Do-It-Yourself work. Especially due to the photo-interviews, the importance of inherent cultural and tacit knowledge becomes obvious as it pictures their typical practices, like cultivation and gathering fruits and vegetables or going fishing. One of the central findings is the multiple purposes of these practices. They contribute to ease financial burden through consumption reduction and strengthen social ties, as they are mostly conducted with close friends or family members. In general, non-commodified practices are found to be re-commodified and to contribute to ease financial hardship, e.g. by the use of commons, barter trade or simple mutual exchange (gift exchange). These practices can substitute external purchases and reduce expenses or even generate a small income. Mixing different income sources are found to be the most likely way out of poverty within the context of a precarious labor market. But these resilient household practices take its toll as they are highly preconditioned, and many persons put themselves into risk of overstressing themselves. Thus, the potentials and risks of resilient household practices are reflected in the presentation.

Keywords: consumption practices, labor market, qualitative research, resilience

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Authors: Amna bibi, Hina Rana

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In the social, behavioral, and medical sciences, and particularly in Pakistani popular culture and political discourse, transgender issues are a relatively recent subject of research. The present study aimed to explore the lived experiences related to psycho-social issues faced by transgenders in Pakistani society. In this qualitative study, phenomenology research design was used. The purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used for data collection and in-depth interviews were conducted with N= 8 transgenders belonging to Lahore city, Pakistan. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed properly. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to generate results in terms of themes. The results of the current study revealed different major themes such as psychological, social, and financial problems. Several emergent and sub-themes were also generated such as insomnia, suicidal ideation, stress, physical abuse, social rejection, discrimination at work workplace, less job opportunities, and harassment. Current study indicate that transgender suffer from different problems and struggle hard for their daily living. It was concluded that there should be a step taken at government level for the betterment of this community. The findings of the present study can help out transgender communities and activist to uncover their problem and empowering transgender individuals through education, skill development, and opportunities for growth. Their abilities can be utilized by providing education, polishing their skills, and employment opportunities. The data provides the knowledge that there should be strategies at family, society and government level for the betterment of transgenders.

Keywords: psychological issues, social issues, financial issues, transgender, Pakistani society

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Authors: Amna Bibi, Hina Rana

Abstract:

In the social, behavioral, and medical sciences, and particularly in Pakistani popular culture and political discourse, transgender issues are a relatively recent subject of research. The present study aimed to explore the lived experiences related to psycho-social issues faced by transgenders in Pakistani society. In this qualitative study, phenomenology research design was used. The purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used for data collection and in-depth interviews were conducted with N= 8 transgenders belonging to Lahore city, Pakistan. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed properly. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to generate results in terms of themes. The results of the current study revealed different major themes such as psychological, social, and financial problems. Several emergent and sub-themes were also generated such as insomnia, suicidal ideation, stress, physical abuse, social rejection, discrimination at work workplace, less job opportunities, and harassment. Current study indicate that transgender suffer from different problems and struggle hard for their daily living. It was concluded that there should be a step taken at government level for the betterment of this community. The findings of the present study can help out transgender communities and activist to uncover their problem and empowering transgender individuals through education, skill development, and opportunities for growth. Their abilities can be utilized by providing education, polishing their skills, and employment opportunities. The data provides the knowledge that there should be strategies at family, society and government level for the betterment of transgenders.

Keywords: psychological issues, social issues, financial issues, transgender, Pakistani society

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Authors: Claudio Di Benedetto, Irene Bengo

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The objective of the paper is to study how large European companies develop social business (SB) at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP). BoP markets are defined as the four billions people living with an annual income below $3,260 in local purchasing power. Despite they are heterogeneous in terms of geographic range they present some common characteristics: the presence of significant unmet (social) needs, high level of informal economy and the so-called ‘poverty penalty’. As a result, most people living at BoP are excluded from the value created by the global market economy. But it is worth noting, that BoP population with an aggregate purchasing power of around $5 trillion a year, represent a huge opportunity for companies that want to enhance their long-term profitability perspective. We suggest that in this context, the development of SB is, for companies, an innovative and promising way to satisfy unmet social needs and to experience new forms of value creation. Indeed, SB can be considered a strategic model to develop CSR programs that fully integrate the social dimension into the business to create economic and social value simultaneously. Despite in literature many studies have been conducted on social business, only few have explicitly analyzed such phenomenon from a company perspective and their role in the development of such initiatives remains understudied with fragmented results. To fill this gap the paper analyzes the key characteristics of the social business initiatives developed by European companies at BoP. The study was performed analyzing 1475 European companies participating in the United Nation Global Compact, the world’s leading corporate social responsibility program. Through the analysis of the corporate websites the study identifies companies that actually do SB at BoP. For SB initiatives identified, information were collected according to a framework adapted from the SB model developed by preliminary results show that more than one hundred European companies have already implemented social businesses at BoP accounting for the 6,5% of the total. This percentage increases to 15% if the focus is on companies with more than 10.440 employees. In terms of geographic distribution 80% of companies doing SB at BoP are located in western and southern Europe. The companies more active in promoting SB belong to financial sector (20%), energy sector (17%) and food and beverage sector (12%). In terms of social needs addressed almost 30% of the companies develop SB to provide access to energy and WASH, 25% of companies develop SB to reduce local unemployment or to promote local entrepreneurship and 21% of companies develop SB to promote financial inclusion of poor. In developing SB companies implement different social business configurations ranging from forms of outsourcing to internal development models. The study identifies seven main configurations through which company develops social business and each configuration present distinguishing characteristics respect to the involvement of the company in the management, the resources provided and the benefits achieved. By performing different analysis on data collected the paper provides detailed insights on how European companies develop SB at BoP.

Keywords: base of the economic pyramid, corporate social responsibility, social business, social enterprise

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Authors: Narges Ebadi, Davod Ahmadi, Hiliary Monteith, Hugo Melgar-Quinonez

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Migration cannot necessarily relieve pressure on water resources in origin communities, and male out-migration can increase the water management burden of women. However, inflows of financial remittances seem to offer possibilities of investing in improving drinking-water access. Therefore, remittances may be an important pathway for migrants to support water security. This paper explores the association between water access and the receipt of remittances in households in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from round 6 of the 'Afrobarometer' surveys in 2016 were used (n= 49,137). Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were carried out in this study. Regardless of country, findings from descriptive analyses showed that approximately 80% of the respondents never received remittance, and 52% had enough clean water. Only one-fifth of the respondents had piped water supply inside the house (19.9%), and approximately 25% had access to a toilet inside the house. Bivariate analyses revealed that even though receiving remittances was significantly associated with water supply, the strength of association was very weak. However, other factors such as the area of residence (rural vs. urban), cash income frequencies, electricity access, and asset ownership were strongly associated with water access. Results from unadjusted multinomial logistic regression revealed that the probability of having no access to piped water increased among remittance recipients who received financial support at least once a month (OR=1.324) (p < 0.001). In contrast, those not receiving remittances were more likely to regularly have a water access concern (OR=1.294) (p < 0.001), and not have access to a latrine (OR=1.665) (p < 0.001). In conclusion, receiving remittances is significantly related to water access as the strength of odds ratios for socio-demographic factors was stronger.

Keywords: remittances, water access, SSA, migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 177